Lotus confirms Type 130 electric hypercar

Lotus has heritage in beating big guns like McLaren and Ferrari on the race track.

And now the boutique British car maker plans to steal some supercar silverware away from its rivals with its own hyper car.

Lotus, which is now owned by Chinese car maker Geely, announced at the Shanghai motor show it has started development of its first all-new product in more than a decade, with the all-electric Type 130 hypercar.

It has revealed little in mechanical detail, and released only a cryptic image that highlights its shape and movement through the air, but Lotus boss - and former Jaguar Land Rover executive - Phil Popham claimed the car will kick-start a new era for the brand.

“Type 130 will be the most dynamically accomplished Lotus in our history," he said.

"It marks a turning point for our brand and is a showcase of what we are capable of and what is to come from Lotus.”

The car - and full details - will be revealed later this year in England, potentially as early as the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed in July.

The Type 130 is the first product to be developed since Lotus was taken over by Geely - which also owns Volvo - late last year and promised to inject more than $2.5 billion to revive its product line, which has remained static with the Elise, Exige and Evora for most of the last decade.